


At the Crossroads

by Justme_theotter



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Blood, M/M, Major Character Injury, Medical Procedures, Medical Trauma, POV Multiple, general mayhem and confusion, very short chapters due to attention span of a gnat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-27 07:02:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8391823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justme_theotter/pseuds/Justme_theotter
Summary: Picks up the story on the rooftop where Yamane Ayano last left it.  Gets Asami and Akihito off that rooftop, but doesn't necessarily get them out of danger.





	1. Breathe with no air...

His thighs burned with heat and adrenaline in the mad rush up the metal staircase - up towards that flash of hair silvered in the moonlight. The fierce glare of Akihito’s hazel eyes urged him onward while Kirishima’s rifle cracked a continuous staccato accompaniment to his flight. Of it’s own accord, Asami’s hand fisted in Akihito’s shirt and yanked the boy upward and behind him as he passed and turned to cover Kirishima’s retreat. Backing towards the helicopter and escape, Akihito’s urgent voice pounded in his ears with the hot beat of his own blood - 

 

“Asami! We need to go. Now, Asami! Oh please, right now!” 

 

Aki’s hands scrabbled across his side and chest like spiders near a flame; even as the gun bucked fierce and hot in his hand, he felt the boy edge around him to stare back, wide-eyed and wild, watching as Kirishima backed inexorably along with them. Asami slipped an arm around the boy to tug him in close while Kirishima scrambled into the cockpit. There was a shimmering tremor in the boy’s bones, but Asami couldn’t stop to give reassurances now. Time enough for that once the shooting was done - once they were lifted off into the gentle night air and free. 

 

The wind picked up, and Kirishima’s voice barked out over the clamor of blades and gunshots.

 

“Asami-sama, we’re ready. Quickly!”

 

He glanced down to push Akihito behind him again, toward the open frame of the helicopter, toward escape and safety, and caught the flash of firefly light that kissed the side of the chopper and skated over the surface towards them. “Sniper!” shrieked through Asami’s brain, and then the full weight of Aki’s small frame slammed into him, shoving him stumbling through the doorway. He registered Aki’s soft grunt of impact even as he cursed and rolled them further into the helicopter, bringing the pistol back to bear in the direction of their attackers.

 

“We’re in, Kirishima. Punch out!”, he roared, clutching for handholds and firing, firing, firing - a continuous barrage to discourage any further discussion of pursuit.

 

The helicopter lifted, spun, and tilted off into the wind, and Akihito slid limply across the floor, pitching towards the still opened door. Asami locked a leg around the boy, his hands still occupied with anchoring handholds and training the pistol back in the direction of the fading enemy gunfire. Over the snick of the whirling blades, over the blast of the last desperate shots, over the hiss of the wind and the buzz of Kirishima’s radio call to Suoh rattling out instructions and demands for assistance, the light, hitching gasps for air coming from Akihito rang out like thunder and dread in Asami’s ear. He slammed the pistol into its holster, uncaring of the singed odor when the heated muzzle skittered over his shirt, latched the door one-handed; and dragged the boy back against his side.

 

The spider hands were back, flickering along his chest in weak spasms. Akihito’s voice was an unfamiliar shaky whimper - trembling like his hands as they searched across Asami’s body.

 

“s-safe, Asami… are you safe… I saw it… sniper… your heart … oh God it was on your heart… please, Asami…”

 

There was very little blood around the wound. Little blood there, but leaking from his nose and slicking his lips like the sliding tears that slicked his cheeks… and the quiet gasps for air becoming harsher and more ragged. Asami stared down into hazel eyes bright with pain and worry; clutched a firm hand over the wound; and twined gentle fingers into soft silk hair to hold Aki’s lolling head in place against his shoulder. His voice caught his throat in a dry rasp, a sudden desert taking root in his chest.

 

“Hospital, Kirishima. Hospital… now.”


	2. If I should die before I wake...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So here's Akihito's POV on this whole escapade. I promise - no main character death, but it may well get worse before it gets better. Sorry for short chapters - it goes along with me having the patience of a gnat...

Akihito struggled to reach Asami’s chest - fingers ghosting over the thin fabric. He needed desperately to get through, get beneath, assure himself that no new blossom of blood ripened on Asami’s skin - just the thorns of old scar tissue, the map of their past written by an old bullet just below Asami’s left shoulder. But Aki’s fingers wouldn’t obey. They skittered feebly across the landscape of Asami’s torso just as his mind skittered and careened among thoughts and sensation.

 

He’d seen that bead of light flit across the surface of the helicopter; seen it and followed its trajectory with his own body in a mad race to the finish as it leapt to Asami’s shoulder like the touch of the devil bringing fire and destruction. Had he even seen it dance over Asami’s heart? 

 

But Akihito hadn’t waited for that dance to end - he’d pushed. Pushed to claim Asami’s safety from that devil light; pushed as if to claim the dance for his own; and as he pushed, the hand of God touched his back and PUSHED as well. But oh, the hand of God burned!! Akihito’s whole chest flamed with the effort to catch his breath, choking on the hot lava of his own blood. The price to pay was worth it if only… if only he could be sure Asami was untouched.

 

His fingertips twitched again, trying to reach the skin beneath the fabric as the world ebbed and dissolved around him into a chaos of sound and sensation so sharp it punctured the encroaching darkness with flaring colors of bright pain. Asami’s hands on him were too tight. The rush of blood in his ears did battle with the chud-chud-chud of the helicopter. Kirishima’s voice rasped harshly into air and tangled in an uncharacteristic explosion of shouted demands. And Asami’s voice thrummed low and dangerous as the darkness bled like a blanket over everything, cocooning him in pain and oblivion.

 

“Akihito! No! Stay…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter titles borrowed from "No Air" - Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown.
> 
> The usual song and dance applies. No beta - all mistakes are my own, but I have no objection to corrections. Everything belongs to Yamane Ayano; I'm just playing with the boys (although they probably wish I would just leave them the hell alone!).


	3. No gravity to hold me down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirishima's take on the proceedings. And my take on the workings of Kirishima's admirable mind - he would not approve of my flighty gnat brain, but I definitely appreciate his! Dr. Yoshioka is named in honor of Yoshioka Yayoi, a remarkable figure in Japan's medical history.  
> My apologies for the difficult read - all my lovely formatting that made it easier went away when I pasted it in, and I don't know how to fix it. I'll keep trying to repair it as long as my gnat brain can hold on to that thought before moving on to the next POV.

*************

He’d yanked the copter up into the night as soon as he’d heard Asami’s shout, muffled as it was by the headset. Thumbing the switch to raise Suoh on the radio link, his mind ticked over into cold detail…

 

_...antagonist on the roof... infiltration from above... avoid detection from potential pursuit helicopter… navigation and anticollision lights off… interior and instrument lights dimmed to minimal... TICK!_

 

_… Suoh has a ground crew racing in… 5 minutes to arrival… no apparent disruption other than the rooftop and the darkness shrouding the top floors of Asami’s building… “Suoh, warn the ground crew - blackout conditions, and they may have air support from above.”... TICK!_

 

_… the attack had been entirely unexpected… Sudou’s treachery as a direct precedent… connections possible… antagonist identity unknown… “And place a guard on Sudou until we can handle interrogation.”... TICK!_

 

_… attack on Asami’s personal residence… Sion and the offices may be targeted as well… Shinjuku is compromised… wheel due south and lean into the wind towards Shinagawa… “Meet us at the warehouse - two decoy teams and a full security team on Asami. An equipment team should set up for rendezvous at the safe house in Yokohama; we need to identify antagonists.”... TICK!_

 

_…!_

 

**“Hospital, Kirishima. Hospital… now.”**

 

Asami’s shout jarred the targeted precision of Kirishima’s calculations. He risked one quick glance back into the cabin. There was fire and fury in Asami’s heated grimace - but the shimmering tension in his shoulders and the rigid way he clutched Takaba’s unruly head against his shoulder unnerved Kirishima in a way that Asami’s blistering glares had never managed before. A jumbled wave of outrage-concern-grief washed over Kirishima’s mind and gripped his gut - one, two, three seconds it stuttered the orderly progression of detached assessment, and then with a grunt of effort, Kirishima forced the frozen clockwork of his mind back onto track…

 

_... number of injuries and victims unknown… Takaba down… Asami potentially impaired as well… rapid communication and action necessary… “Asami-sama, put your headset on! I have an emergency medical kit up here on the co-pilot seat.”...TICK!_

 

_...“Suoh, add an emergency medical evac team to the contingent at the warehouse. Hold them alert for order changes.”...TICK!_

 

A click and static hum as Asami’s headset came alive, and then heavy breath in his ear as Asami brushed past his shoulder to snatch the medical kit into the rear cabin.

 

_…”Asami-sama is on the line now. Raise Dr. Yoshioka and patch her in; we’ll send pickup for her to meet us. We’ll weight final destination on her recommendation.”...TICK!_

 

_...reassess level of pursuit… tight circle… blackout still in effect on the top of the building - low visibility… no sign of pursuit helicopter yet - perhaps running dark as well… reset course due south and accelerate… 5, 10, 30 seconds… rear cabin lights to full… TICK!_

 

_…”No pursuit visible. ETA at warehouse eight minutes.”... TICK!_

 

_… circle at one minute out to determine level of pursuit… two minutes out… four minutes out… no visible pursuit… navigation and anticollision lights on full to locate landing zone… full out speed… TICK!_

 

Narrowing his eyes to avoid the flash-flare of the reawakened navigation lights, Kirishima scanned for landmarks to pinpoint the warehouse, the brief murmur of exchange in the headset between Suoh and Asami an urgent but unobtrusive backdrop. And that gnarled ball of emotion slammed back into his gut and shook his concentration with Asami’s guttural demand: “Akihito! No! Stay awake - you need to stay awake!” 

 

Dr. Yoshioka’s crisp voice in the headset was unfazed as she curtly requested information from Asami and relayed precise guidance, but Kirishima’s gut remained uncharacteristically clenched in dread as he hurtled them all onward through the thick night air.


	4. My heart won’t move, it’s incomplete

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami's POV of the helicopter flight from hell. We're not at the hospital yet, but we're getting closer.

Reluctant to release his hold over the wound, Asami gripped Akihito fiercely against his own body for one brief second before gently brushing the boy’s grasping hands away and sliding him over to prop against the next passenger seat. Hooking a headset out of the back seat pocket and thumbing it on, he maneuvered forward to retrieve the medical kit, and huffed a surprised gasp when his weight shifted onto his left leg. Somewhere between the twisting impact of Akihito’s body against his own and the tug on his joints when he’d hooked the boy with his ankle to prevent Akihito’s slide back out into the tilting air and the teeth of the assailants’ gunfire, Asami had damaged something that now sent a dagger bright flare of pain through the limb. Time enough to deal with it once he assessed Akihito’s condition. 

 

Kirishima’s rifle canted off the co-pilot seat and thunked against the hull when he pulled the medical kit into the back cabin. The rear cabin lights flamed back to full as Kirishima’s ETA echoed in the headset as though his controlled urgency had summoned them to life. They spotlighted the red droplets that spilled over Akihito’s lips and trembled off his chin to plunk onto his t-shirt. Akihito was mouthing something to him that didn’t penetrate the headset; there was a disorienting juxtaposition as Aki’s lips moved and Suoh’s voice reverberated in his ears:

 

“Miyama has been dispatched to retrieve Dr. Yoshioka. Setting up a patch through now. Security teams and medical evac dispatched to the Shinagawa warehouse. Kirishima’s ETA puts you there first.”

 

“Understood, Suoh. Keep chatter to a minimum on this line until I have an assessment from Yoshioka on the medical situation.”

 

Akihito’s fingers fluttered across Asami’s chest again then slid away as Asami gripped the boy to lift him off the floor into the passenger seat, turning him to expose the spreading stain on his back. The boy’s feeble struggles slumped away into dead weight as Asami turned him; it shocked an unexpected exclamation from Asami before he bit down hard in a tight grimace and tore the boy’s shirt down the back to expose the wound.

 

“Akihito! No! Stay awake - you need to stay awake!” 

 

But Akihito remained limply sprawled across the seat, blood welling from the puncture in his back and drooling down his side to leak onto the leather. Asami wrapped a hand around his nape and pressed two fingers below Aki’s jaw in search of a pulse while he swabbed the wound with Aki’s own torn shirt. And finally, finally Yoshioka was there in the headset with a calm request for information.

 

“Asami, I understand there is an urgent issue. Please fill me in with as much detail as you can.”

 

“A shooting incident, Doctor. Unknown caliber. Takaba-san was hit. I can see one puncture wound on his back, right side, into the rib cage area. He’s bleeding but not as much as I would have expected. He’s also bleeding from his nose and possibly mouth as well. I can feel a pulse, but his breathing is rough…”

 

“Is there a second wound - an exit wound - apparent? Can he tell you if he was hit anywhere else?”

 

“He’s out, Yoshioka-san. Checking for other wounds right now…” Asami tilted the boy over gently to examine him. Smears of the blood that had dripped onto his chest, yes, but there was no second wound visible. Even though Akihito had been gasping for air before, there didn’t seem to be much chest movement now; Asami relayed his observations to Yoshioka.

 

“Do you hear a sound of air when he inhales - like a sucking sound?”

 

Asami had a strange shocking moment of disorientation at that - the image of Akihito sucking an odd overlay to the bloody wound and the clinical questions from Yoshioka. It shook his focus.

 

“We’re in the damn copter - I can’t hear him at all through the headset!” The response snarled out before he managed to compose himself again, cool water purpose and control veneering over the rage in his veins. A brief stutter of silence from Yoshioka before her voice soothed back in.

 

“We need to dress this quickly, Ryuichi. Find a water-tight sterile dressing in your med kit - you’ll need one large enough to cover the wound with a couple of inches to spare.”

 

Asami rifled hurriedly through the med kit as she recited instructions. Sterile dressing… medical tape… alcohol swabs to clean the area and aid adhesion… the portable AED to shock his heart if it failed… The trembling in his fingers as he gathered the materials alarmed him. He could hold a gun cool and stoic - in the worst of situations he could spin a bullet into a target zone the size of a fist; the tremor was an unacceptable waste of energy while Akihito needed assistance. He flicked his hands once, twice to shake out the tension; gritted his teeth down hard on the sour, dry dread he tasted in his mouth; and got to work.

 

Wipe the excess blood … swab the area with alcohol … place the dressing tight across the wound… tape it down securely on 3 sides leaving the fourth side open… 

 

“Yes, Miyama, please load that med kit as well. I know they are well equipped, but I can work faster with familiar gear…”

 

He could hear a car door shutting in the headset, the faint spark of a car engine springing to life.

 

“Miyama has me, I’m on my way, Asami. Check the dressing. Is it pulling in when he inhales?”

 

Asami watched intently as the dressing dimpled with Akihito’s breath. “Yes.”

 

“Okay. The wound is on the right, correct? I need you to lay him down on that side. Are the electrodes in place for the AED? Suoh, are you still on the line? I need to relay to the medevac team - I think they’re going to get there first. Can you connect me?”

 

“Working on the electrodes as soon as I get him positioned…” Akihito’s head rolled loosely as Asami lifted him gently to place him right-side down on the floor, and then to his horror, the lightning pang of agony that buckled Asami’s knee out from under him brought them both down to the floor with a sudden thump as the helicopter banked in descent. Akihito’s head jerked and bounced lightly against the floor, and Asami cursed under his breath as he scrambled the AED electrodes into place. The renewed trembling in his fingers infuriated him as they stumbled through keying up the device and priming it to charge. Once the flash-flash-flash of a pulse was established, a quick glance around showed nothing of use to cushion the boy’s head; Asami slipped one hand under his cheek to cup it away from the shuddering floor. The pale translucence of the boy’s face was shocking against the tan of Asami’s hand and the bright smears of blood. Yoshioka’s one-sided litany to the medevac team continued softly in the headset as the helicopter thunked down and the blades whirred down to silence…

 

“... looking at possible pneumothorax. Probable haemorrhagic pleural effusion as well. Prep a chest tube, 3 units of type O and fluids. AED will already be in place - check the electrode placement. He’ll need oxygen…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is taking over my life - I mean, I actually had to research and cross reference with the manga and map out future chapters and yeah... I think it's probably going to be close to 20 chapters before I can put this to bed. I am horrified! 
> 
> On another note, please read tags and warnings - there is medical stuff going on in here and it will get worse before it gets better. I still promise he's not gonna die!!!!


	5. Out here in the water so deep...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirishima is on the job. He still had more to say, but I was out of time.

Kirishima had drawn up the specifications for the Shinagawa warehouse himself, but even knowing the structure as he did, the reinforced roof area of the covert helipad was difficult to judge in the dark. He registered the strangled gasp in the headset from Asami as he banked the helicopter into a steep spiral down, searching for the fluorescent paint markers on the roof surface. The camouflaged landing lights were unlit...

 

_...helipad lights are down… security crews and medevac not on the scene yet… revise helipad specs to include remote triggering of guidance lights… “Suoh, do you have an ETA on ground support at Shinigawa?”... “Working on it, Kirishima”... TICK_

 

_…lined up on helipad… gentle it down… power off blades… electrics remain on - headsets still needed for rapid communication… TICK!_

 

_… AED on Takaba… 2 minute intervals between potential discharges… “Asami, watch the display closely; you won’t be able to hear the audible instructions through your headset. You must not touch Takaba while the AED is analyzing; it will inform you to clear if it needs to shock him.”... TICK!_

 

Kirishima glanced back into the cabin as he leaned to retrieve his rifle and the binoculars. Asami was sliding a hand out from underneath Takaba. The boy’s head tilted at an awkward angle to rest on the floor. Except for the areas painted in blood, his body was pale and trembling badly; he was nearly naked in the cold night air. Asami, in a t-shirt and silk sleep pants, was not much better off. There were tight lines of pain around Asami’s eyes and a grim tension in his jaw.

Kirishima shrugged off his jacket; folded it tightly; and handed it back.

 

“Asami-sama, use this to support his head. Suoh, coordinate status with Asami.”

 

A momentary sting - some hairs caught in the headset as he ripped it off his head. Leaving it behind on the seat, he slid out of the bubble of the cockpit already scanning the night sky for threats. One quick sweep around the copter revealed no activity; a flash of headlights down the darkened street brought him to the edge of the roof. The vehicle spun in next to the warehouse. He caught the driver’s face in his binoculars as the interior overhead light flared with the car door opening.,,

 

_.... first security team arrived… Mitsugi-san leading… competent to handle secure deployment… TICK!_

 

One more quick scan of the sky before he reached the helicopter and popped open the cabin door. Asami dropped his pistol back down when the cabin lights flared across Kirishima’s face but continued the terse dialog over the headset with Suoh. Kirishima propped the binoculars by the open cabin door; signaled “cover area”; and stepped aside to let Asami slide out of the cabin. The heavy weight pitching into Kirishima’s shoulder as Asami tried to stand staggered him for a moment. Kirishima noted the blank, calm facade of Asami’s face as he leaned the big man into the helicopter hull and handed him the rifle.

 

“Left knee.” Asami’s low murmur informed him quietly. Kirishima couldn’t tell if there was blood on the silk sleep pants, but Asami’s bare feet were a pale discord in the dark against the roof surface. Asami’s nod of assurance sent him jogging towards the entry hatch down into the warehouse. He caught the faint edge of Asami’s discussion with Suoh as he ran, but not clearly enough to gather any further information. His blind plunge down the open stairs into the yawning emptiness of the warehouse pinpointed in when the lights flicked on in the office below - a beacon to hurry his feet with Mitsugi’s shadow silhouetted across it like a dark angel.


	6. You took my breath away...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito's POV - we've reached the hospital. He's a little confused right now, so you may be as well. Hope it works...

The world had dissolved into a confused miasma of disconnected moments - all of them colored with a cutting hue of pain…

 

Blink…

 

He found himself on the floor of the copter, shivering uncontrollably in the cold. And suddenly Kirishima was there folding a quilted furniture blanket over his shoulders. When Kirishima shifted to wrap another blanket around his feet, Asami swam into sight, a furniture blanket over his shoulders as well. He reminded Akihito of an old grandmother huddled under the kotatsu.

 

“Do you need some hot tea as well, obaachan?” The giggle that tried to escape became tangled with a gasp of pain and memory. The rooftop… the helicopter… that dance of sniper light that was seeking to change the rhythm of Asami’s heart…

 

Asami met his stumbling fingers as Akihito reached; met them and pressed them over Asami’s own chest. Akihito’s eyes blurred - tears of relief because the pulse there beat strong and steady.

 

“Rest, Akihito. They’ll be here soon.”

 

 

Blink…

 

A wave of agony and pressure as he was rolled onto his back stealing his air again.

 

“Leave me the fuck alone. Where’s Asami?” He tried to shout, but there wasn’t enough air for more that a tight hissed whisper. And then a piercing agony as something tunneled into his chest - oh, god, was that another bullet… unfamiliar voices… were they still on the roof? Had the intruders taken them?

 

“Blood in the chest drain. Hanging a unit of O neg…”

 

 

Blink…

 

Everything was shifting and swaying, and it hurt, god, it hurt. Couldn’t they stay still just for a moment. There was movement and light around him, but Akihito couldn’t make out anything through the haze. Asami’s cool baritone and Kirishima’s low murmur of reply swam through the fog of sound and mist around him. Damn this haze; was that bastard smoking when Akihito already couldn’t breathe? He tried to mouth a protest, but his heart squeezed in his chest to choke off his voice and tunnel out his vision.

 

“Clear! AED is charging…”

 

 

Blink…

 

Warm lips on his own. Eyelids shuddering open to glaring light and a deep whisper. Asami’s amber eyes burning into him. A smear of blood across Asami’s lips. A woman’s lilting voice - unfamiliar...

 

“Wait here, Asami-san. I’ll update you when I come back to check that knee…”


	7. Wish that I could cry...

The glare Asami directed at the proffered wheelchair and clean scrubs had not fazed Kirishima although, as expected, Asami had rebuffed any attempt to be seen by ER staff while they waited for Yoshioka’s return. A sympathetic nurse had supplied an ice pack, long discarded onto the side table of the corner of the waiting room that they had commandeered. The ancient magazines had melted into a sodden puddle on the tabletop along with the misshapen heap of the pack. Kirishima had managed to locate tea for Asami and coffee for himself once the rapid fire flurry of communication with Suoh was complete; they had redeployed resources and coordinated plans of action, and now they waited…

 

Waited for the initial results from the investigation team combing through the information they already had for leads…

 

Waited for Souh to arrive after his release from police questioning; the tale they had spun about corporate espionage and attempted kidnapping and Souh as loyal bodyguard defending his boss complete with Asami’s gun in hand (delivered surreptitiously by a member of the security team) to match the ballistics of the bullets in the dead intruders - it would be enough for Kuroda to work with…

 

Waited for Yoshioka to return with news on Takaba…

 

Asami’s restless stirring pulled Kirishima’s attention back. The knee still looked badly swollen propped up on a folded furniture blanket - a reminder of the grim ride through the early morning streets of Tokyo to get Takaba here in time. Kirishima’s gut clenched again at the darkened splotches of dried blood still visible on the blanket hoping they were not a bad omen.

 

“It’s been two hours, Asami-sama. I’ll get another pack - we need to ice the swelling again.” 

 

Asami’s sudden grip on his forearm stopped Kirishima. He followed Asami’s stare across the waiting room to find Dr. Yoshioka striding calmly towards them shrugging into a fresh lab coat. It flapped closed over the smear of blood on the thigh of her scrubs.

 

“Well?” Asami questioned curtly.

 

“Let’s get you into an examination room so I can look at that knee, Asami-san.” Dr. Yoshioka met Asami’s baleful stare blandly while Kirishima slued the wheelchair in a tight arc to follow the direction of Yoshioka’s gesture. His brief nod of acknowledgement to Mitsugi and his security crew scattered about the ER waiting room caused a casual shift of positions as they passed. Once again Kirishima noted the efficiency with which MItsugi covered the room and backed them with subtlety.

 

_Mitsugi-san very sharp on security… good sense of tactics and strategic deployment… speak to Souh and Asami regarding update of position and responsibilities for him… TICK!_

 

As soon as the exam room door slipped shut, Yoshioka began speaking even as she scissored open the pant leg of the borrowed scrubs to access Asami’s knee.

 

“The bullet lodged in his right lung. It did considerable damage on the way in so there was extensive bleeding, but he was very lucky that there was no damage to the liver. He developed a hemopneumothorax - that’s blood and air collecting in the chest cavity. The pressure from that collapsed the lung and interrupted his heart rhythm; that’s why he needed the AED on the way in…”

 

Kirishima recognized the mask of impassivity that folded over Asami’s face as she detailed the extent of the damage to Takaba, the number of units they had already transfused, the progress of the surgery… the sudden growl of anger from Asami was startling.

 

“If he’s still in surgery, why aren’t you with him?”

 

Yoshioka paused in the middle of manipulating Asami’s knee. Kirishima ached for the sympathy that shone in her eyes; despite his devotion to this man, Asami would never accept that open show of support from Kirishima or any of his deputies. The one connection to a softer humanity that Asami regularly allowed was currently under the knife in a removed operating room.

 

“I’m a trauma surgeon, Ryuichi. I’m good at what I do, and I’ve done all I can do to help him recover at this point. I called in Okada to help because he’s the best thoracic surgeon I know. Takaba is going to lose at least part of that lung; Okada is his best bet to make sure he doesn’t lose the whole lung. I’ve left him in good hands. Hands that I trust. Now let me help you so you can be there when Takaba needs you.” 

 

The mask didn’t slip, but Asami paled beneath his tan. Yoshioka continued her examination of the knee and then announced the need for an MRI scan to make a conclusive diagnosis. Asami’s face hardened even further at the statement before Kirishima spoke up.

 

“I’ll wait here for news, Asami-sama. Dr. Yoshioka, we’d like to have one of our men accompany him to the MRI.” He had already called Mitsugi in by the time Yoshioka had the cut apart pant leg pulled back over Asami’s knee. As Mitsugi wheeled Asami out, Yoshioka caught Kirishima’s eye. There was that small flash of wicked humor that she was capable of even at the worst of times - she nodded at the cell phone ready in his hand.

 

“I’ll go along with him, Kei. Punch in ‘lobectomy’ and ‘ACL injury’.” She flicked a wink at Kirishima before hurrying out to lead her charges to the radiology department.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from "Superman" - Five for Fighting

**Author's Note:**

> I have the patience of a gnat which makes me no good at waiting around for a story to continue, so I'm spinning the tale further in my head just for my own amusement while I spin my wheels awaiting Yamane Ayano's next installment. This is my first time sharing any of my mental flotsam - be gentle please! It only lasts until canon contradicts it and then I'll give it a reasonable wrap-up and start a new storyline in my head.
> 
> Please note - tags, ratings, etc. may change as this goes along. I have no idea where this will end up - I'm just riding the mental wave until it crashes. And everything belongs to Yamane Ayano; I'm just taking her characters out for a spin. No beta so all mistakes are my own, but feel free to point out any issues in case I feel dedicated enough to actually correct them!


End file.
